Say goodbye to enhanced data privacy, US web surfers

We often worry about how online services like Facebook and their advertising partners track our every move, but let’s not forget the information that internet service providers collect.These organizations get to see what you access online, when you access it, where from, and what device you’re using, among many other things. It’s a treasure trove of user data. Last week, the US government stopped a ruling designed to give users control over it, the day before it came into force.US ISPs have historically been able to sell this sensitive information to online brokers interested in knowing more about their customers. Those brokers could in turn use it for advertising and targeted marketing. In October, the FCC moved to regulate that with a contentious privacy rule that introduced a privacy framework for ISPs.Under the rule, broadband providers couldn’t do anything with sensitive data unless the consumer gave them explicit permission first, by opting in. Sensitive data includes things like geographic location, app usage history and communications content (including, for example, your web browsing history).